La Cage aux Folles Manila Gears Up For The Perfect Storm

If you have been reading my blog, you would know that I was lucky enough to have been invited to watch La Cage Aux Folles early of February this year. I was so head over heels in love with amazement at this show that I really wanted to tell my theatre friends to catch it but unfortunately it ended too soon. Lo and behold, and maybe because I have been pretty good lately, my answers have been answered. La Cage is actually doing a RE-RUN.

A fun, frivolous romp through the streets of Saint
Tropez and the French Riviera, the Tony Award-winning musical which returns to
the RCBC stage from August 15 to September 6, 2015, follows the story of night
club owner Georges, played by TV and film actor Michael de Mesa, and his life
partner and the club’s star performer Albin, played by veteran stage actor and
PHILSTAGE president Audie Gemora.

When the former’s biological son Jean-Michel (played
by TV actor Steven Silva) brings home his fiancée Anne (played by Missy
Macuja-Elizalde and Joni Galeste) and her ultra-conservative parents for a
matrimonial téte-a-téte, pandemonium ensues, leaving no stone unturned, no
feather unplucked, and no sequin unpolished.

Based on the 1973 French play by Jean Poiret, also the inspiration behind the
Robin Williams’ starrer Birdcage, La Cage aux Folles was a musical that
Manila audiences wholeheartedly embraced and called their own. “How everything
came together,” recalls director Robbie Guevara, “the cast, the 9PO orchestra,
the production team – it was like a perfect piece of pie that everyone just
gobbled up!” The talent we assembled, executive producer Santi Santamaria adds,
gave us constant tearjerkers, “a whirlwind of emotions and contagious
enthusiasm from everyone onstage and off.” The amazing audience reception,
Robbie recalls fondly, made the sacrifices and hard work well worth it.

Featuring tap-dancing, energetic musical numbers
like We Are What We Are, The Best Of
Times, and the anthemic I Am What I
Am, and breathtaking costume changes courtesy of scenographer Mio Infante, Twinkle
Zamora for costume execution, and the Fashion Designers Association of The
Philippines (FDAP), the show promises to up the theatrical ante for its
sophomore return, giving audiences both old and new, “a vivid, colorful
celebration of theater magic” and a love story that is effervescent as it is
timeless.

“For
those who have seen and enjoyed the show, this is one musical you may want to
consider watching again before it gets restaged after another 20 years,” says
Santamaria. “Add that to the uncanny chemistry between acting juggernauts Audie
Gemora and Michael de Mesa on stage,” he shares, and you’ve got time in the
theater that is time well spent.

La Cage aux Folles
will be directed by Robbie Guevara, with scenic and costume design by Mio
Infante, and special participation of the Fashion Designers Association of the
Philippines; choreography by Arnold Trinidad, PJ Rebullida, and Yek Barlongay;
musical direction by Joseph Tolentino and Sweet Plantado-Tiongson; lighting
design by Martin Esteva; technical direction by Dong Calingacion; hair and
makeup design by Myrene Santos; and additional costume execution by Twinkle
Zamora; photography by Leo Castillo and graphic design by Larry Palma.

Heading the production team is executive producer Santi
Santamaria, with Anna Santamaria as company manager; Toff de Venecia as PR
director; GM Hernandez as marketing manager; Jonjon Martin and Issa Tuason as
PR managers; Randy Salvador as production manager; and Mikey Garcia as stage
manager.

A limited number of performances are available for
fundraising and block-buying. For tickets and other inquiries, please call
586.7105 or 0917.554.5560, or email info@9workstheatrical.com. Facebook:
9workstheatrical. Twitter & Instagram: @9WTonline. Hashtag: #LaCageManila

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES is presented by 9 Works Theatrical
and The Rockwell Club, with MAC Cosmetics as the Official Makeup Sponsor.
Official photos by Photoworks Academy.

"La Cage aux Folles" is
presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.